The most common known means for the storage of garden hose and the like between periods of use, other than for a mere coiling of the hose on the ground, has been and is a basic wall-mounted hanger including an arcuate hose-receiving surface.
Such hangers provide an exceptionally convenient compact storage means for hose, the hose easily and rapidly coiling thereon. Patented examples of such hangers were known at least as early as 1910 as exemplified by the following patents;
U.S. Pat. Nos. 955,260, A. Getman, Apr. 19, 1910, 3,029,933, N.J. Sutter, Sept. 26, 1957, 4,436,267, Eads et al., Mar. 13, 1984.
While such hangers easily receive and effectively store coiled hose, they are less than effective, and sometimes extremely bothersome, when it becomes necessary to dispense the hose. In this regard, the hose must either be specifically uncoiled from the hanger or, alternatively, removed therefrom as a unit and placed on the ground for subsequent uncoiling. this latter procedure will frequently result in a substantial tangling and/or kinking of the hose.
Various proposals have been put forth with regard to ways to facilitate the dispensing of hose from storage devices. Two known arrangements will be noted in the following patents:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 832,793 D. B. Jackson, Oct. 9, 1906, 2,334,141, F. P. Zierden, Nov. 9, 1943.
In the patent to Jackson, a hose-retaining lever is automatically actuated upon the introduction of water pressure into the hose to drop the coiled hose to the ground. While this might be advantageous with regard to fire hoses as discussed in Jackson, there appears to be no particular advantage therein for the homeowner over a manual removal of a coiled hose.
In Zierden, a rather elaborate construction is shown involving a rotatably mounted, hose-receiving basket which pivos between a vertical position and a horizontal position with both the coiling and uncoiling of the hose relying on rotation of the basket as the hose is longitudinally fed therein or withdrawn therefrom.